“This was my fault,” she panted, her eyes dropping to the coin, still clenched in her fist. “Mia, Remus, everything. It was my fault that Mia learned how to kill people with impunity. And she hurt you. I’ll take care of this. You can’t risk yourself anymore.”
“You’re going to take care of her alone?” I said, feeling distant and unreal inside. “This is as much my fault as yours. I gave you the wish in the first place. We’re going to get her, Ivy, but not apart. We have to do it together.” Who am I kidding? It would take a demon to take down a banshee. But then again…didn’t say anything, but her expression behind the hunger was determined. I flicked the heater on, and a blast of warm air billowed out. In the distance, I saw the lights of an oncoming car flashing. Relief so strong it hurt washed through me. I could tell it was a Hummer by the spacing of the lights. It was them. It had to be. “I see them!” I exclaimed, and Ivy tried to smile. Her teeth were clenched and her eyes were wild, and it twisted my heart to see her red-rimmed, pain-filled eyes as she struggled., I put on my own flashers and pulled into a fast-food place. Two cars pulled in behind me, black in the streetlight. I came to a halt, not slamming on the brakes, but close. Before I could put the car in park, two men were at Ivy’s door. There was a crack of breaking metal, and the door swung open, the lock broken.incense rolled into the car, and with a savage sound, Ivy lunged for the man stooping to pick her up. I turned away, tears falling. I heard a groan, and when I looked back, the second man with them was supporting the first as he carried Ivy back to the black Hummer. She was on his neck, blood slipping past her lips. The second man opened the door for them, and Ivy and the man she was clutching to her vanished inside. He turned to look at me, his expression unreadable, before he followed them in and closed the door.snow fell between us, and I sat there, my passenger-side door open, staring out my front window, hands on the wheel and crying. Ivy had to be all right. She had to be. This is so messed up.soft tap on my window jerked my attention away and I looked to see Rynn Cormel standing outside my closed door. His cashmere coat had the collar turned up against the snow and the hat on his head was just showing the first few flakes. He looked good standing there, but the memory of his callous treatment of me-me and Ivy, actually-was too new for me to be taken in. He was an animal, and now I understood what Ivy had meant when she’d said, “He’s just a vampire.”wealthy, powerful, and attractive, he was nothing, not worth anyone’s love or affection. I wouldn’t allow Ivy to become like that.my nose, I rolled down my window. I was numb inside.Cormel bent over so our faces were closer. Seeing me in a state, he pulled a handkerchief from an inside pocket and handed it to me. “Why didn’t you let her bite you instead of all this drama?” he said, his gaze flicking to the unmoving Hummer. “All she needs is blood.”or no, I still needed to treat him with respect. “She doesn’t want that,” I said as I used his hanky and shoved it away. He might get it back after I washed it. Maybe. “She doesn’t want to lose her soul, and biting me brings her closer to that.”frowned and stood, dropping back a few steps so he could see me. “It’s what she is.”
“I know.” I took my hands from the wheel, placing them quietly in my lap. “She knows it, too.”high, Rynn Cormel made a soft sound. Rocking on his feet, he made motions to leave. “Rynn,” I said, and he stopped. “She accepts what she is, and by God, I’m going to find a way to help her be who she wants to be.”heart was pounding, but his worried expression melted into one of his famous smiles, and I wondered if I had just saved my own life with my promise to find a way for her to keep her soul. If he thought I meant to find a way to keep it after she died, then that was his prerogative. I was thinking something a little more immediate. Something we could both benefit from.
“Good,” he said, hands in his pockets, looking harmless. “Enjoy your evening with your family, Rachel. Ivy will be fine.”sat straighter, hope making my eyes wide. “Are you sure?”gaze never moved from the Hummer. “Her aura will be replaced as she satiates herself, and her strength will return in time. It’s my people with her I’m worried about.”couldn’t help my smile at that, but it faded fast. She was out of control in that car, and she was going to hate herself when she came home. What she was pinning her sanity on now was that she hadn’t allowed her hunger to rule her and satisfy it by savaging me. Her vow to abstain from blood had lasted thirty seconds.
“Rynn, don’t push her,” I said. “Please? Just make her better and send her back to me. I’ll find a way for her to die with her soul. If it’s possible, I’ll find a way. I promise.” Damn it, I’m going to have to talk to Trent. He had a way to make the vampire virus dormant, but from there, he might find a way to remove it. I wasn’t sure if Ivy would agree to becoming human to lose her blood lust, but after tonight…she might.tall man inclined his head to acknowledge my words. Smiling, he jauntily returned to his second car. The driver emerged to open his door for him, and in a moment, both vehicles were gone.glanced at the clock, then noticed that Ivy’s purse was still with me. I picked it up off the floor and put it on the seat where she’d been, then reached across and closed my broken door. Ivy’s scent lingered, and I breathed it in, wondering how she was. My hands started to shake with the remaining adrenaline. I was late for my already postponed lunch. Robbie was going to have a field day.I wasn’t ready to risk the road yet. I was deathly worried about Ivy, but that was probably fair play. Ivy had been worried about me when I was in the hospital. Rynn Cormel said she was going to be all right, and I had to believe it. A vampire was a banshee’s closest rival in terms of strength, having a fast way to rebound after an attack-blood to renew her aura, and Brimstone to revitalize her strength.slowly thunked the car into gear and crept up to the exit, turning my blinker on and sitting there, waiting for a break in traffic. As I sat there, it hit me that this was probably the turning point in our relationship. Ivy was a vampire who wanted to be more. Or maybe less. But she could never be who she wanted unless I could find a way to get the virus out of her. By magic or medicine, I was going to have to do that. I might not be able to be the person I wanted to be, but if I had to be a demon, I was, by God, going to make sure Ivy could be who she wanted to be.to deal with stuff like this was just crappy.threescent of beef stew was heavy in my mom’s kitchen, but even that, combined with the homemade biscuits Mom had pulled out of the oven when I walked in the door, hadn’t blunted my worry for Ivy. Dinner might have been pleasant; I didn’t remember. I’d been there for over an hour, and still no one had called about Ivy. Just how long did it take to replenish an aura?to my state was the fact that somewhere in this house was an eight-hundred-level arcane textbook that my brother was hiding from me. My life was falling apart, and I wasn’t leaving without it. I should just tell my mom and have her make Robbie give it to me, but the last time I’d used it, I’d gotten into a lot of trouble. I didn’t need any more trouble tonight. I’d maxed out on it. I was wound so tight a hangnail might have sent me over the edge.handed Robbie the last of the glasses and fumbled in the dishwater for the bowls. The shifting-eyed witch above the sink ticked, and from the back of the house, I heard my mom thumping around, trying to find something. It was odd standing here, like I had while I was growing up. I washed; Robbie dried. ’Course, I didn’t need to stand on a footstool anymore, and Robbie wasn’t wearing grunge. Some changes were good.clicking on the tile, my mom came in looking happy and satisfied. I couldn’t help but wonder what she was up to-she looked far too pleased with herself-though just having me and Robbie here at the sink like old times might account for it.
“Thanks for lunch, Mom,” I said as I slipped a plate into the rinse water before Robbie could take it. “I’m sorry for dragging it out this late. I really thought I’d get over here sooner.”made a rude noise, but my mom beamed as she sat with her cold cup of coffee. “I know how busy you are,” she said. “I just threw everything into the slow cooker, figuring we could eat whenever you got here.”glanced at the ancient brown pot plugged into the wall, trying to remember the last time I had seen it, and if it had held food or a spell. God, I hoped it was food. “Stuff kept getting in the way. Trust me, I really wanted to be here earlier.” Boy, did I want to be here earlier. I hadn’t told them why I was late. Not with Robbie looking for a reason to needle me about my job. His mood tonight was bordering on smug, worrying me even more.shut the door to the cupboard too hard. “Stuff always seems to happen to you, little sister. You need to make some changes in your life.”me? My eyes narrowed. “Like what?”
“It wasn’t a problem, Robbie,” my mom interrupted. “I knew she was probably going to be late. That’s why I made what I did.”made that noise again, and I felt my blood pressure rise.mom got up and gave me a sideways squeeze. “If I knew you weren’t trying to do ten things before the Turn, I’d be miffed. Want some coffee?”
“Yes. Thanks.” My mom was pretty cool. It wasn’t often that she took sides between Robbie and me, but he’d been on my case all night.handed him a plate, not letting go until he looked at me and I gave him a glare to get him to shut up. I really thought he’d been lying when he told me the book wasn’t where he’d left it, trying to make me do things his way by force instead of persuasion-because persuasion wasn’t going to work. I had to get up in that attic without my mom knowing. I didn’t want to worry her. Snatching a ghost to get a demon to talk to you didn’t sound safe even to me.when I handed the last dish to my brother, I used my perfect excuse, smiling as the sink drained. “Mom,” I said as I dried my hands, “are my stuffed animals still in the attic? I have someone I want to give them to.”jerked, and my mom beamed. “I expect so,” she said. “Who? Ceri’s little girl?”allowed myself one superior look at Robbie, then went to sit across from my mom. We’d known Ceri was having a girl since last week, and my mom was as delighted as if it were one of her own. “No,” I said as I fiddled with my mug. “I want to give them to some of the kids in the children’s wing of the hospital. I met the brat pack yesterday. The ones who spend more time there than at home? It just seems right. You don’t think Dad would mind, do you?”mother’s smile turned beautiful. “I think he’d say that was the right thing to do.”stood, restless and invigorated. Finally I was doing something. “Mind if I get them now?”
“Go right ahead. And if you find anything else up there you want, bring it on down.”! With her carte blanche to rummage, I was in the hall before she could call after me, “I’m putting the house on the market, and a clean attic sells better than a full one.”?string to pull down the attic stairs slipped through my fist, and the ceiling door slammed shut. Not believing I’d heard her right, I went back to the kitchen. Robbie was smirking, his ankles crossed as he leaned against the sink with a cup of coffee. Suddenly I saw my mom’s stilted conversation tonight in an entirely new way. I wasn’t the only one hiding bad news. Shit.
“You’re selling the house?” I stammered, seeing the truth in her downcast gaze. “Why?”a resolute breath, she looked up. “I’m moving out to the West Coast for a while. It’s not a big deal,” she said as I started to protest. “It’s time for a change, is all.”squinting, I turned to Robbie. God! He looked too satisfied to live, leaning against the counter like that. “You…selfish brat,” I said, furious. He’d been trying to get her to move out there for years, and now he’d finally gotten his way.mom shifted uncomfortably, and I reined in my anger, shoving it down to bring out when he and I were alone. This was where we’d grown up. This was where my memories with Dad were, the tree I had planted with his ashes. And now a stranger was going to have it? “Excuse me,” I said stiffly. “I’ll get my things out of the attic.”, I strode into the hall. “I’ll talk to her,” I heard Robbie say, and I made a sarcastic puff. I was going to do the talking, and he was going to listen.time I jerked the stairs all the way down and flipped on the light. A memory of Pierce came from out of nowhere. He had opened the attic for me when I’d been looking for my dad’s ley line stuff to help him save a girl and his soul both. At least he had saved the girl.spilled down, and as Robbie came into the hallway, I stomped up the ladder and out of his reach. Chill silence enveloped me, doing nothing to cool my temper. The space was lit by a single bulb, making shadows on the stacked boxes and dark corners with angled support beams. My brow furrowed as I decided someone had been up here recently. There were fewer boxes than I remembered. Dad’s stuff was missing, and I wondered if Robbie had thrown it all away in his efforts to keep me from using it.
“Selfish brat,” I muttered, then reached for the topmost box of my stuffed animals. I’d gathered the toys one by one during my stints in the hospital or home sick in bed. Many bore the names and pretend personalities of my friends who hadn’t made it out one last time to feel the wind push on their face. I hadn’t taken them when I’d moved out, which was just as well. They wouldn’t have survived the great salt dip of ’06.pulse was fast as I took the box to the hole in the floor. “Catch,” I said, dropping it when Robbie looked up.fumbled it, and the box smacked noisily into the wall. I didn’t wait to see him glare up at me. Spinning away, I went for the next one. Robbie had gained the attic by the time I turned back around. “Get out of my way,” I said, frowning at his tall height, hunched in the low ceiling.
“Rachel.”wasn’t moving, and unless I wanted to take the direct route to the hallway by way of crashing through the ceiling, I was stuck here. “I always knew you were a prick,” I said, drawing on years of frustration. “But this is pathetic. You come back here and get her all stirred up and convince her to move out there with you and your new wife. I’m the one who held her together when Dad died, not you. You ran off and left me to cope with her. I was thirteen, Robbie!” I hissed, trying to keep my voice down but failing. “How dare you come out here and take her from me now, just when she’s gotten herself together.”’s face was red, and he shifted his thin shoulders. “Shut up.”
“No, you shut up,” I snapped. “She’s happy here. She’s got her friends, and this is where all her memories are. Can’t you just leave us alone? Like you used to?”took the box from me and set it beside him. “I said shut up. She needs to get out of here for every reason you just mentioned. And don’t you be so selfish, keeping her here when she finally finds the courage to do it. Do you like seeing her like that?” he said, pointing to the unseen kitchen. “Dressing like an old lady? Talking like her life is over? That’s not who she is. I remember her before Dad died, and that old lady isn’t her. She’s ready to let Dad go. Let her.”crossed over my chest, I exhaled.
“I’m not taking her from you,” he said, softer now. “You held her together when Dad died. I was a coward. I was stupid. But if you don’t let her go now, then you’re the coward.”didn’t like what I was hearing, but figuring he was right, I looked up at him. My face was twisted and ugly, but that’s how I felt.
“She wants to be closer to Takata,” he said, and I puffed in disgust. Sure, bring him into it. “She wants to be closer to Takata, and Takata can’t live in Cincinnati,” he said persuasively. “She doesn’t have any friends here. Not really. And thanks to you, she can’t sell her charms-now that you’ve been shunned.”washed cold through me, and my expression blanked. “Y-you know about that?”eyes dropped from mine, then returned. “I was with her when we found out. They won’t sell to her anymore, won’t buy. She may as well be shunned herself.”
“That’s not fair.” My stomach was hurting, and I held it.sideways, Robbie put one hand on his hip, the other on his forehead. “For Christ’s sake, Rachel. You’ve been shunned?”, I dropped back. “I-I didn’t know they would…,” I stammered, then realizing he had turned the tables on me, I lifted my chin. “Yes. Because I talk to demons.”sucked his teeth and looked at my demon-scarred wrist.
“Okay,” I admitted. “And maybe make deals with them when I’m forced into it. And I’ve spent some time in the ever-after. More than most.”
“Uh-huh.”
“And a demon prison,” I added, feeling a twinge of guilt. “But it was a run for Trent Kalamack. He was there, too. No one got mad at him.”
“Anything else?” he mocked., I said, “You saw the news, huh?” The agony of my defeat, or in my case, being dragged down the street on my ass by a demon, had been worked into their opening credits.’s anger vanished in an amused snort. “That must have hurt.”smiled, but it faded fast. “Not as bad as what you’re doing to me does.”sighed and nudged the box closer to the hole in the floor. “There isn’t anything here for her, Rachel.”pique came back. “There’s me.”
“Yeah, but thanks to your mess-ups, she can’t make a living anymore.”
“Damn it, Robbie,” I swore. “I didn’t want this to happen! If she leaves, I don’t have anyone.”edged to the stairway. “You’ve got your friends,” he said, head down and shoving the box with his foot across the plywood floor to the door.
“Friends you’ve made abundantly clear you don’t approve of.”
“So make new ones.”make new ones, I mocked in my thoughts. Bothered, I went to get the last box of stuffed animals I’d named after dead or dying friends. There were so many of them. My thoughts went to Marshal, then Pierce. How was I going to tell Marshal I’d been shunned? So much for that friendship. I never should have done a power pull with him.lifted the second box. “You need to change something.”scent of dust was thick as I took a breath to protest. “Like what? I try. I try damn hard, but there isn’t anyone decent who can survive the crap my life can turn into.”Robbie’s long face went hard, and he started down the stairs. “That is an excuse. You’ve been shunned, and you’re hurting Mom. This goes deeper than who your friends are. On second thought, maybe that’s all there is to it.”
“You leave Ivy and Jenks out of this,” I snapped, my worry for Ivy coming out as a hot anger. “They have more courage in one day then you will have in your entire life!”’s attention came up, and he scowled at me, his head just above the floor. “Grow up,” he said. “Burn your demon books and get a real job. If you don’t start thinking inside the box, you’re going to end up in one.”, I shifted the toys to my hip. “You are a piece of work. You know that? You don’t know anything. You have no idea what I’ve done or what I’m capable of. And that comes at a cost. Nothing is free. I’ll tell you what. You just take Mom and fly on back to your safe girlfriend, in your safe house, in your safe trendy neighborhood, and live your safe, predictable life and have safe, predictable kids, and die a safe, worthless death after doing absolutely nothing with your safe life. I’m going to stay here and do some good, because that’s what people do when they are alive and not just going through the motions. I am not going to find myself on my deathbed, wondering what would have happened if I hadn’t played it safe!”brother’s face darkened. He took a breath to say something, then changed his mind. Sliding the waiting box into his arms, he descended the stairway.
“Thanks a hell of a lot, Robbie,” I muttered. “Look at me. I’m shaking. I come over here for lunch, and now I’m shaking.”headed for the stairway with my last box of dead friends. I could hear Robbie and my mother talking, but not their words. Halfway down the ladder, I stopped. My head even with the floor, I took one last look. The book I wanted wasn’t up here. Robbie had it, and damn it, he wasn’t going to give it to me. Maybe I could find something online. It wasn’t the safest thing to do, but seeing it might trigger my memory enough that I could reconstruct it.watery, I descended into the green hallway backward off the ladder, almost backing up into my mom.
“Oh crap!” I stammered, knowing by her miserable expression she had heard everything. “I’m sorry, Mom. Don’t listen to me. I’m just mad at him. I didn’t mean it. You should go to Portland. Be with Takata, ah, Donald.”mom’s misery shifted to teary-eyed surprise at the pop star’s real name. “He told you his name?”smiled back, though I was really upset. “Yeah. After I punched him.”thump of the back door closing made me jump. It was Robbie going out to cool off. Whatever. “I’m sorry,” I muttered as I edged by her and headed for the kitchen. “I’ll apologize. It’s no wonder he lives on the other side of the continent.”mom closed the attic door with a bang. “We need to talk, Rachel,” she said over her shoulder as she went in the opposite direction, to my old room., I came to a halt on the green carpet, depressed as she disappeared into my room. My head was starting to hurt, but I shifted the box on my hip and resolutely followed her, ready for the coming lecture. I hadn’t meant to get into a fight with Robbie. But he’d ticked me off, and things needed to be said. Things like “Where in hell is my book?”when I entered my old room to find my dad’s stuff piled up on my bed, I froze.
“This is for you,” she said, gesturing to the dusty boxes. “If you want it. Robbie-” She took a slow breath and put a hand to her forehead briefly. “Robbie thinks I should throw it away, but I can’t. There’s too much of your dad in them.”set the box of stuffed animals down, feeling guilty. “Thank you. Yes, I’d like it.” I swallowed hard, and seeing her distress, I blurted, “Mom, I’m sorry I was shunned. It’s not fair! They’re being stupid, but maybe I should just drop it all and walk away.”sat on the bed, not looking at me. “No. You shouldn’t. But you do need to find a way to get your shunning removed. For all your rebel tendencies, you’re not cut out for living outside society. You like people too much. I heard what you told Robbie. He’s scared that he’s a coward when he sees you live by your own convictions, so he yells at you to be safer.”came close and shoved a box over so I could sit beside her. “I shouldn’t have said that,” I admitted. “And I really think you should go out to…Portland.” My mouth felt nasty saying it, and I got depressed. “Maybe…” I swallowed a lump in my throat. “Maybe I should just scrap the whole thing. They might take the shunning off if I walked away from everything.”I’d have to leave Ivy and Jenks, and I can’t do that.mom’s eyes were bright when she took my hand. “I’m going. And you’re staying. But I’m not leaving you here alone.”stifled a wince as I thought of her matchmaking attempts, and as I took a breath to protest, she handed me a smooth, shiny textbook. “Is this the one you’re looking for?” she said softly.mouth dropped open, and I stared. Arcane Divination and Cross-Tangential Science, volume nine. That was it! This was the one I needed!
“That’s the book Robbie gave you on the solstice when you were eighteen, right?” she was saying. “I made Robbie give it to me, but I didn’t know if it was the right one. I think you’ll need this, too.”wide, I took the red-and-white rock with the small dip in it with shaking hands. She wanted me to rescue Pierce? “Why?” I managed, and my mom patted my knee.
“Pierce was good for you,” she said instead of explaining. “I watched you find more strength and personal resolve in that one night together than the entire eighteen years before. Or maybe it was always there, and he simply brought it out. I’m proud of you, sweetheart. I want you to do wonderful things. But unless you have someone to share them with, they don’t mean a dog’s ass. Trust me on this.”couldn’t say anything, and I just stared at the book and the crucible. She thinks Pierce would make a good boyfriend? “Mom, I only want this to prove to Al that he can’t just jerk people into the ever-after,” I said, and she smiled.
“That’s a good start,” she said as she stood up, drawing me to a stand in her wake. “Save him, and if it works, then it does. If it doesn’t, then no harm done. The important thing is that you try.” My mom leaned forward and gave me a hug, smothering me in a heady redwood scent.was pretty sure she was talking about trying Pierce on as a boyfriend, not trying to summon him out, and I absently hugged her back.
“You need someone a little dirty, honey, with a heart of gold,” she whispered in my ear as she patted my back. “I don’t think you’re going to find it in this century. We don’t make honest men who are that strong in their convictions anymore. Society seems to just…twist them bad.”let go and stepped back. “Mom,” I managed, but she waved me off.
“Go. Go on. You still have the watch, don’t you?”nodded, not surprised she knew it was part of the spell. It was my dad’s watch, but it had been Pierce’s before that.
“Do it exactly like before. Exactly. If you added something by accident, do it again. If you stirred it with your finger, do it again. If you got your hair into it, add a strand. It has to be exact.”I nodded. There were tears in both our eyes, and she walked me to the hall with her arm over my shoulders. “Don’t worry about the rest of this. I’ll bring everything over tomorrow in the Buick. Your little car would need three trips.”, I smiled at my mom and pulled the book and stone tight to me. “Thanks, Mom,” I whispered. And with the knowledge that my mom believed in me even if the rest of the world didn’t, I headed for the door.fourwinced at the clatter of the three black potion storage bottles in the sink. Looking up at the night-darkened window, I listened for the whine of adolescent pixy wings. It was just after midnight; Jenks’s kids were asleep, and I wanted to keep it that way. Hearing nothing, I shoved my sleeves up higher and dipped my hands into the warm suds. I wouldn’t be able to invoke Pierce’s charm until tomorrow night, but I had to do something to distract myself from my worry over Ivy, and prepping the charms would help. I still hadn’t heard from Cormel, and if no one called me soon, I was calling them.box of cold pizza with one piece gone lay open atop Ivy’s papers, and a two-liter bottle of pop sat, barely touched. The fridge was gone, leaving an empty space; our food was outside on the picnic table. Behind me on the center counter were the partially prepared bits and pieces of my spell, making a wide semicircle around the open university textbook. There was enough stuff to make three substance charms, and I was going to use it all.Year’s Eve was my best chance to find enough ambient energy to work the spell, and I wasn’t going to bet everything on one go. Not after the locator charms had failed to work. Yes, it had probably been my blood that had been the problem, seeing that Marshal’s worked and mine hadn’t, but the mere thought that I might do a spell wrong was enough for me to spend the time to stir a little insurance.God, Marshal, I thought, almost dropping the slippery storage bottle as I remembered my shunning. What was I going to tell him? Or better yet, how was I going to tell him? Hey, hi, I know we just had sex with our clothes on, but guess what I found out! Shunning was contagious. I didn’t want him to lose his job because of me. Actually, I didn’t want him to lose his job again because of me. I was the freaking black plague.tired, I rinsed the bottles in salt water and reached for the dishcloth. And things had been going so well, too-apart from my latest mess, that is. I’d finally gotten the Weres off my case by returning the focus to them. Thanks to my saving Trent, the elves weren’t bothering me despite my potential demon, ah, liabilities. The vampires were edgy, but I think I had just taken care of that. Ivy was going to be okay, and our relationship was going to get a lot less chaotic. Just when everything was under control and I might be able to have something normal with a normal guy doing normal things, my own people had come down on me.
“Must have been Tom,” I muttered, shoving my sleeves back up and pulling out the drain plug., attractive guys who have a good job and don’t mind a girl who spends a night in the ever-after once a week were hard to find. It wasn’t as if Marshal and I had been planning a life together, but damn it, there’d been the chance that it might have gone that way. Eventually. Not anymore. What was wrong with me?at the black window, I closed my eyes and sighed. That power pull had been fantastic, though. What am I going to tell him?, I turned back to the center counter and the spells waiting to be put together, bottled, and stoppered for tomorrow. I’d take them out to Fountain Square, find an alley, and when the crowd started singing “Auld Lang Syne,” I’d invoke them all if I had to. And then Al and I would talk. Get a few things settled.even as I was looking forward to it, the thought of arguing with Al in the snow with a naked ghost and a square full of witnesses made me cringe. Maybe I could rent a van and do it in the parking garage. It wasn’t as if Al was giving me any choice. I’d tried to call him earlier, but all I’d gotten for my trouble was a lingering headache and a “go away” message. Fine. We could do it the hard way. I had agreed not to summon him, but he hadn’t said anything about stealing his latest chunk of meat out from under him.soft hum of pixy wings got my attention, and I gave Jenks a closed-lipped smile as he flew in. “Hi, Jenks,” I said as I shook the black bottle to get the water out and dried the exterior, impatient to get to the fun stuff on my counter. “I didn’t wake up your kids, did I?”glanced over my spelling supplies, and a slip of silver dust sifted from him as he hovered over the table. “No. Have you heard from Cormel yet?”
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